It is absurd to suggest that Putin or his presidential puppet Medvedev have any leg to stand on.

Ambassador Marc Ginsberg, Huffington Post

Russia's brazen blitzkrieg-syle military attacks on the independent and democratic state of Georgia warrant worldwide condemnation, and much more. In the past few days, Moscow has conveniently used Georgia's internal dispute with the unrecognized breakaway territory of South Ossetia (which desires to split away from George and join the Russian Federation) to use disproportionate Russian military force to settle once and for all its political score with its former Soviet satellite. Russia's goal: to shatter Georgia's territorial integrity by supporting the rebellious and separatist Georgian enclaves of South Ossetia and the other breakaway territory of Abkhazia and orchestrate a Soviet-style putsch against Georgia's pro-western government. Meanwhile in New York, Russia is doing everything possible to prevent the UN Security Council from passing any reasonable resolution urging restraint and a cease fire in order to buy it as much time as possible to complete its mission against Georgia's pro-western leadership.

What lies behind Russia's use of the age old canard that it is merely making aggressive war to preserve the peace? Nothing less than Vladamir Putin's ruthless determination to overthrow the democratically elected (and U.S. - educated) president of Georgia - Mikhail Saakashvili, and to prevent Georgia from becoming a member of NATO. Indeed, Moscow wasted no time in making it clear that it will settle for nothing less than the removal of Saakashvili and part of its demands to agree to a cessation of hostilities. Not since the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan has Russia sought to overthrow a foreign government by military force.

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Related:

Unacceptable! Robert Thompson, AxisofLogic.com

Is there a "Good Guy"? Robert Thompson, AxisofLogic.com